British Court Approves Cleric's Cleft Palate-Abortion Lawsuit

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 1, 2003

London, England (LifeNews.com) -- A British court has approved a lawsuit filed by a cleric against police that says they failed to prosecute the performance of a late-term abortion of a perfectly health baby who was shown in the womb to have a cleft palate.

The Rev. Joanna Jepson of St. Michael's Church in Chester sought to sue Paul West, chief constable of the West Mercia Police and the British High Court has agreed to allow the case to proceed.

Her initial application for a judicial review was rejected by a judge in late October. However, the High Court reversed that decision Monday.

In a statement, Justice Rupert Jackson said Jepson's case had "substantial hurdles" but also "raises serious issues of law and issues of public importance."

Richard Gordon, Jepson's attorney, said the police failed to do their duty and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which allowed the abortion, failed to follow British law.

British law allows abortions after 24 weeks only if the unborn child has a serious handicap. Jepson, who was born with a facial deformity later corrected by surgery, argues that a cleft palate is not a serious handicap and that it can be corrected with routine surgery similar to hers.

The abortion in question was performed in 2001.

"My teenage years were difficult due to facial abnormality," Jepson said after the ruling. "I also have a brother with Down's syndrome. We both live positive and fulfilling lives.

"I think the first point is that right from the beginning, a cleft palate cannot be reasonable grounds for a late abortion," Jepson said.

"The baby in this case did not have this opportunity, despite the availability of excellent and routine medical help," she told the Associated Press. "The benefits of this surgery would have been positive for both the child and family."

"Hopefully as a result of this we are going to see the human rights of the unborn safeguarded so we can't be a society that discriminates against children on account of the way they look or on their disabilities," Jepson added.

According to the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), cleft palate reconstructive surgery has been performed since the early 1900s. Today, it is one of many routine surgeries, and pales in comparison to some of the more complex facial reconstruction cases that modern surgeons encounter.

Cleft palate occurs approximately once every 700 births, according to WrongDiagnosis.com, a website that provides symptom descriptions, treatment options and statistics for 1,200 diseases and conditions.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Hereford have expressed their support for Jepson's lawsuit. Jepson has said that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, privately told her she has his "full backing" in her efforts to stop abortions performed for "trivial reasons."

Jepson's church is part of the Church of England.